Changing Your Implants from Under the Muscle to Subfascial

May 13, 2022

If you’ve really done your homework on breast augmentation procedures, then you’ll know that there are a number of choices when it comes to where exactly your implant is placed within the breast.

The most common implant placements to date have been either over the muscle or under the muscle. Over the muscle (subglandular) is when the breast implant is placed over the pectoralis or breast muscle, and under the muscle (submuscular) refers to an implant being placed below the pectoralis or breast muscle.

If you’re really really up on your breast augmentation research then we’re super impressed, and that means that you’ve probably heard that there’s yet another area that an implant can be inserted—something called subfascial placement.

Subfascial breast implant placement is really rising in popularity and there are a number of great reasons for this that may have you wondering whether it’s worth changing the position of your implants from under the muscle to subfascial.

What is Subfascial Implant Placement?

Subfascial implant placement is when the implant is placed between the fascia and the breast muscle. The fascia is actually a thin but very tough layer of tissue that covers your breast muscle, and surgeons have recently found that placing the breast implant subfascially gives the breast a very natural appearance with a lot of natural movement, and actually reduces breast augmentation recovery time.

 

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All that said, this absolutely does not mean that subfascial implant placement is the best placement for every patient. Every patient is different and where your implant is placed really depends on a number of factors and primarily on your anatomy, and this is always an important discussion that you’ll have with your surgeon before undergoing a breast augmentation surgery.

We have however gotten a lot of interest in the subfascial breast augmentation and there may be patients who have already undergone a breast augmentation procedure wondering whether it might be possible to change their implant from under the muscle to subfascial.

You can absolutely change your implant placement from under the muscle to subfascial, but there needs to be a good reason for it. This means that the benefits need to outweigh the risks of having surgery again.

Reasons to consider changing your implant from under the muscle to subfascial might include: experiencing pain with the current position of your implant, an important aesthetic reason, or another complication.

Reasons for Changing an Implant from Under the Muscle to Subfascial

Typically we would consider changing an implant from under the muscle to subfascial in a patient that might have a ruptured implant under the muscle. Similarly if a patient has experienced something called capsular contracture under the muscle, then it might be a good idea to change the implant placement to subfascial.

Capsular contracture is when a “capsule” or scar tissue forms around the implant. This is actually a very normal healing response, and only becomes an issue if the capsule ends up putting pressure on the implant and making it harden.

Another reason we may consider changing a patient’s implant placement is if they are suffering from something called inferolateral malposition, which means that the implants sit too low and too far out to the side.

We would also change implant placement to treat animation deformity, movement of the implant with pectoral muscle activation, or to correct issues with the “memory” of the old inframammary fold, also called a double bubble. In other words, when the breast implant ends up sitting lower than the original inframammary crease.

What Does Changing an Implant from Under the Muscle to Subfascial Involve?

Changing an implant from under the muscle to subfascial usually involves removing the old implant and some or all of the capsule, and suturing the pectoral muscle back down to the chest wall to restore its natural position as much as possible. Then a new pocket for the implant above the muscle and between the muscle and fascia would be created. The new placement of the implant in the subfascial position would also allow for more medial cleavage definition.

Again, changing your implant placement is not something we approach lightly. If you currently have implants that are located under the muscle and you’re happy with them and aren’t experiencing any issues of the type that were discussed then we recommend you stick with them. Why change something that’s already great and working for you?